Today I realized our fridge is starting to overflow with veggies from our garden. Greens take up a lot of room in there. We go through them rapidly, but as the garden continues to produce and with our CSA program getting ready to roll in later this month, I found myself looking for what to do with extras (besides putting them in the compost pile). I do get a little tired of green salads after eating them twice a day for weeks on end. But, I remind myself that I pine for fresh salad during the winter months when I’ve run out in the garden and the farmer’s market isn’t offering lettuce. So, with that rounded thought in mind, I make another salad. I saute another batch of greens. I whip up a jar of pesto, and I chop another radish. In the end, I enjoy every fresh, homemade meal. And, I do follow some of these ideas for making good use of any excess I produce: (more…)
Archive for the ‘Localvore’ Category
Garden Coach on What to do with Extras from the Veggie Bed
Friday, June 5th, 2009
Brassica Worm Pests and Pest Management
Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009Cabbage Loopers, or maybe they’re Imported European Cabbage Worms, are back in my garden. Last year, I handpicked them vigilantly and didn’t sustain too much damage. This year I kept my crops covered with plastic hooping when it was really cold and floating row cover now that it is warmer.
Protective Row Cover Pulled Back Revealing Pest and Edibles
I’ve seen the white adult butterflies with their signature dotted wings flittering about my garden, looking for their favorite hosts (aka my cabbages and cauliflower). I thought the defenses were up and the crops were secured. Then, I pulled back the floating row cover in one bed to do some weeding, seeding and crop inspection. And, dang, there were a couple of worms chomping away. SQUISH! Now they’re gone and my organic veggies are barely damaged.
So, what’s the message? Well, if there’s any opening in the floating row cover, those egg-laying white wonders are going to get into the plants. In one bed, my row cover is tightly secured over hoops with no entry point available. In the infested bed, the row cover is somewhat secured but mostly just floating. That weak link in the chain of defense meant the invaders made their way in.
Now I’m checking daily (if not a couple times a day) for worms on my cabbages. And, the floating row cover is more secured in all areas.
The best part about picking off the worms? Seeing my cabbages starting to tighten up and form yummy purple balls and little buds of cauliflower beginning to appear amid the protective leaves. I think I might even harvest my first cabbage today. Not only will that make a tasty addition to my endless salads, but it will also open up a planting spot for one of my Butternut squashes that are ready to move out of the greenhouse and into the garden beds.
Easter Veggie Garden Harvest Including Easter Eggs
Sunday, April 12th, 2009Today, Easter, was our first big harvest out of the veggie garden in 2009. We’ve been stealing a few leaves from lettuces, spinach, sorrel and kale all winter. And, we’ve had herbs a-plenty throughout the freezes. But, today began what looks to be a bountiful year of fresh foods from the garden.
Easter 2009 Edible HArvest
Before we headed out to the farmer’s market this morning, we opened our hoop houses to let the lettuce, spinach, kale, cauliflower, chard and cabbage drink in the heavenly downpour that arrived today. There’s nothing like water from the sky (rather than the spigot) to make a plant happy. I took note that it is time to start harvesting lettuces, near-flowering dinosaur kale that had overwintered, sorrel that is spreading, and that spinach is just days away. This meant huge savings for us at the market.
After I returned from the market with potatoes, carrots, hot cross buns, a dozen eggs and a couple loaves of local bread, I donned my gardening gear and braved the downpour. I divided and transplanted lettuces from 4″ pots to gallons and from gallons to larger decorative containers. Then I potted up cauliflower and cabbage into gallon containers to give them some more space. I moved tomatoes from sterile mix to 4″ pots. And I topped everything with vermicompost from our wormbin, and I watered everything in. I took a quick peek at the sterile starts from last weekend and found basil and corn germinating readily. Curbits, cilantro, and beans are poking along a bit more slowly. I set out some egg crates and compostable takeaway containers filled with sterile mix & watered those to soak so I can seed zinnia, marigolds, sunflowers and more beans soon.
Easter Eggs for the Gardener
Then, I looked around and asked my beautiful garden for dinner table volunteers. Kale waved its budding tips suggesting I pull them before the flowers made them more bitter. Heads of buttercrunch lettuce threatened to squirm out of their too-tight pots in order to plop into my basket. Sorrel shot upward into my hands. Pansies winked their colorful eyes just begging to be included in the mix. Crowded garlic begged I thin a few to throw into our stew. And finally, down below, in large pots on the floor of the greenhouse, I caught a glimmer of pink and a flash of red — low and behold the culmination of my Easter hunt — a first fistfull of easter egg and red icicle radishes to make our basket (and our dinner salad) that much better!
So, what did it save me? Well, I honestly can’t tell you exactly how much soil, water and individual seed has cost to grow these plants. But I bet it’s cost less than $5 to grow all of this (and the additional crops to come). Compare that to today’s farmer’s market prices:
- $4/bunch for sorrel
- $2.50/bunch for radishes
- $5/bag for salad mix
- $5/bag for braising greens (my closest kale comparison)
- $4/bunch for baby leeks (my closest garlic comparison)
- and I didn’t see any pansies for comparison.
Interested in growing your own food? It’s not too late to get started! Get in touch here to set up a gardening consultation now!
Help Michele Obama Keep Her Garden Chemical Free and Chemical-Lobby-Free Too
Sunday, April 12th, 2009This morning I received an email informing me that the pesticide lobby is working the Obamas to add pesticides to the White House organic vegetable garden. They may “shudder” at the thought of growing vegetables without pesticides, but I bet there are a few of us out there who shudder at the though of adding pesticides. Sure, the chemical companies pay a big role in feeding the world, but is it really necessary? I don’t think so. I know a small residential garden can be bountiful without pesticides, so why should the Obama’s residential garden have to be any different?
If you would like to read the letter from Mid America CropLife Association to the White House, go here. If you would like to sign the petition to keep the pesticides out of Michele Obama’s veggies, go here.
Victory Garden at the White House Campaign
Thursday, January 8th, 2009The idea of getting the new President to convert some of the White House Lawn back to an edible or Victory Garden has been simmering for months now. Today, the Washington Post ran an interesting historical piece on edible gardening at the White House, complete with some great photos. Read more here. The idea of growing food at the White House is not new. And what better place to set a national, if not international example, of sustainable, edible self-sufficiency? Why not use the property owned by Americans to teach Americans that they can grow food on their property and reduce the need for lawn along the way!?
And, you can join the campaign to to encourage the lawn conversion here. Do it fast! There are just over 4 days left to sign the campaign petition.
The Easiest Vegetable Garden Anyone Can Grow Anywhere, Anytime!
Monday, January 5th, 2009So, you’re interested in growing your own food? Maybe you have no experience. Maybe its the dead of winter. Maybe you live in a one-room apartment. Regardless of your situation, you can grow these edibles! Within as few as 3-7 days you’ll be enjoying your crops that with a little care won’t stop producing. Hard to believe? Well, I won’t sell you a set of knives to go with this promise, but I do guarantee that with less than 3 minutes of attention daily, space smaller than a throw pillow, and very little cost, you’ll have fresh greens to keep you healthy year-round.
Day Seven: Top View of Sprouts Ready to Eat!
If you’re a locavore trying to find lettuce to put on sandwiches in the winter, you probably aren’t having any luck. After our latest freezes, local farmers don’t have many leafy greens to offer. Yesterday, I stopped at every veggie farm stand at the Ballard Farmer’s Market. I came home with root veggies galore — parsnips, turnips, Jerusalem artichokes, golden beets, red beets, carrots and onions. I scored some cabbage too, but no kale. And certainly no lettuce for sandwiches! Thankfully, I can replace my sandwich lettuce with fresh sprouts from my kitchen window garden.
Fresh sprouts are a fantastic way to maintain a healthy diet. Sprouts are the youth stage of plant growth. Much of their energy is derived from stored nutrients bursting forth from the seed; some comes from the photosynthesis process that begins as the young sprout unfurls green leaves. They are rich in minerals, vitamins, antioxidants and even protein. And it requires pennies to grow them. All you need is sprout-ready seed and water. Sunlight isn’t even required and can sometimes ruin the taste of your sprouts.
To start, be sure to avoid trying to eat just any old sprouted seed. Some seeds like tomato and eggplant seed can be toxic. Some seed has been treated with chemicals that don’t make for good, fresh sprouts. Look for seed that is certified for sprouts. Many bulk grocery stores, for instance, offer mung beans for sprouting. Many nurseries offer broccoli, spicy blends, and salad blends to sprout. Just be sure you know you’re sprouting something that’s safe to eat before you start. You’ll find sprout seeds on sale now in the Garden Help Garden Store Edible Gardening section.
Next, you’ll need a sprouting tray or jar lid for your project. When I was growing up, we used a mason jar with a screw on “sprouter” lid. These are inexpensive and fairly easy to use. Often they come with an adjustable lid so you can change the hole size depending on the size of your seed. Today, I’m using a two-tier system that allows me to grow different sprouts, starting batches on different days. The amount this produces is smaller, but I can usually bring in a fresh batch every couple of days. You’ll find sprouter lids, sprouter lid kits and tier kits on sale now in the Garden Help Garden Store Edible Gardening section now.
Since I use a two-tier system, I start one tier on day one and tier two on day two or three. This staggers my harvest. Depending on the size and type of seed you are sprouting, your harvest times may vary. In my window garden, broccoli seed sprouts are ready within about 3-7 days. Mung beans I prefer to sprout in a dark spot as I find they become somewhat bitter if they meet with sunlight. These are also usually ready within about 3-5 days. If you have a rotation crop going, I find that the second crop comes on faster than the first. This may have to do with growth hormones that the sprouting seeds emit, but I’m not certain. (Anyone out there know?)
**It is important to never eat anything that may have turned. If you have any question about whether your sprouts have gone bad, toss them out! If the roots or leaves are browning, toss them. Just don’t risk it!**
Now that you have a sprouting system and some seeds, your next step is to sprinkle a layer of seed in your jar or on your tray(s). Moisten with a gentle stream of water and let the water drain out. Repeat moistening 2x/daily until the seeds have opened, roots have begun to form and small dicot leaves appear.
Following is a photo journal of a recent 7 day sprout garden from seeding to harvest!
Day One: Dry Broccoli Seed Added to First Tray
Day Two: As First Tray Germinates, I Add Seed to the Second Tray
Day Three: Germination Continues
Day Four: Germination Continues. Sproutlings Starting to Show
Day Five: Sprouts Beginning to Look Tasty!
Day Six: A Handful of Sprouts That I Could Eat, but...
Day Seven: The Bottom Tray is Ready; The Top is Nearly There Too!
Local St. Jude's Tuna with local Parker's Pickles & Broccoli Sprouts on locally-made sprouted grain toast.
There are lots of ways to enjoy fresh sprouts. Pop them in your mouth as is, toss them in a salad, add them to a stir fry, stir them in a soup or add them to a sandwich for a bit of green crunch. It’s not hard to start sprouts and they take such little effort and provide so much reward! If you have questions about sprouts, please get in touch. If you have recipes that include sprouts or if you would like to share your favorite sprouts, please get in touch! After writing this, I think I may just need to go make another St. Jude’s tuna sandwich with my next batch of fresh broccoli sprouts!
For additional reading:
Gardening in 2009 — A New Year with New(er) Garden Ideas
Wednesday, December 31st, 2008Looking for innovative ideas and options for your garden for 2009? Here are Five simple ones to consider:
- More Edibles:
Properly Divided & Planted Cauliflower
Yep, the buzz is humming. Buy local. Buy organic. Grow your own. And why not? Growing food is easy. Even if you’ve never grown a bite of food, there are so many simple ways to get started. You don’t need to purchase seed for everything. Each year higher end nurseries and local plant sales are offering more and more edible plant starts, cycling them in at just the right time for you to set them out in your garden. And even easier: put in a few herbs. Many add fragrant, low maintenance evergreen interest to your garden as well as saving you several bucks on fresh herbs at the grocery store!
- Less Lawn: Sure, we Seattle horties say it every year — reduce your lawn to reduce dependence on water, pesticides and the mower. Each year I get more and more requests to find alternatives to traditional grassy spaces. This spring may be the perfect time for you to start seeding your lawn with self-fertilizing, low-mow, low-water eco-turf meadow seed blends. Or better yet, get out there now to sheet mulch your lawn so it’s gone by spring. Need help? Get in touch!
- Goats:
Goats Clearing Weeds in Seattle
Tired of hand weeding and using a machete to clear through blackberries and other overgrown brambles? Consider hiring a goat herder (and her herd) to do the clearing for you! The trend to bring in ruminants to clear out weeds and poop out fertilizer and aerate soil with cloven hooves has been growing, especially among parks and public utilities. 2009 is the year more homeowners are likely to bring the goats back into urban settings to do the heavy clearing for them!
- Container Gardening:
Decorative and 100% Edible!
Sure, there’s nothing new about planting in containers, but they sure do look good. And, they’re easy to manage. Plus, you can always take your container garden with you! And, adding edibles to containers makes for a super-simple kitchen garden for anyone. Whether you live in a tiny apartment or on a farm, big containers with mixed edibles is a great way to decorate and have a snack right outside your door!
- Gardening Families Hiring Garden Coaches: Each year I get more and more calls and emails from families who want to start gardening. I’m not one to draw graphs, but I know this one would have an upward arrow. Gardening industry pollsters have been telling this industry for years that there is a decline in gardening interest as Baby-boomers age & downsize. They tell us that Gen-Xers/Yers just aren’t interested in doing for themselves and would rather pay to hire out gardening “work” so they can “play”. Well, I disagree. Families call all the time, often inspired by their children’s inquiries about the garden and food. Some are Baby-boomers retirees with time on their hands and a new or re-found interest in their gardens. Sure, these folks may have the money to hire out their gardening “work”, but they’re interested in learning about getting their hands dirty. They want to grow food or start a compost bin or just come together as a family in their garden to create a space they can truly call their own. And, a garden coach offers them the guidance to take ownership and have fun in their gardens.
Harvesting Her Own Raspberries
Today, it’s difficult not to be concerned about holding onto our homes and our jobs. The news bombards us with depressing stats on everything we’re losing or may lose in the months ahead. Our connection to the planet, our opportunity to use our bodies to feed our bodies, our families, these are all the things an economic downturn cannot take from us. With a little help, a bit of rain, a flash of sunlight and a small seed, we have the power to build a stronger future, better families, and a beautiful planet.
I could go on & on with other topics like adjusting gardens to deal with climate change, reducing fertilization, increasing composting, adding mid-winter interest plantings, planting more trees, wearing more sunscreen, doing more plant sharing/dig ‘n split parties, inviting more bees and birds into the garden, building more coldframes/greenhouses, attending more garden tours, using herbs for medicinals, converting the White House lawn to a Victory Garden, and on and on, but I leave you with this and invite you to suggest ideas of your own for the year ahead.
If you’re ready to start a garden coaching program in the greater Seattle area, please get in touch. If you’re interested in reading more in-depth articles on any of these topics, or others, please let me know.
Happy New Year!
Gardener’s Epiphany Invokes Process Change
Friday, December 19th, 2008
Organic Cabbage Grown at Home
Earlier this year, Bill Moyers interviewed Michael Pollan on the subject of Food, Health and Agri-business. In this compelling, two part interview Pollan discusses industrialized food, climate change, health care, petroleum costs and more as it relates to plain old food. A few highlight comments:
- Vote with your fork!
- The generation being born today is the first in history to have an shorter life expectancy than their parents.
- Be prepared to cook & declare your independence from processed foods
- Make yourself a producer, put in a garden
- Pollan’s 10′ x 20′ veggie garden produces so much food he has difficulty giving away the extras
- Cheap energy has allowed us to outsource so much of our lives & the time of cheap energy may be coming to an end
- Gardening teaches us we can use our bodies to support our bodies.
- Gardening teaches us we can feed ourselves — if we need to (someday).
- It is empowering to know you are not at the mercy of the supermarket.
Teaching Children about Growing Food
Please take some time to watch this segment and learn more about where your food really comes from and how building your own garden will empower your mind, body, and community.
If you’re interested in reading more of Pollan’s writings on food, please visit the Garden Help Garden Store where you will find all of his books — on food and otherwise in the novels, memoirs and more book section. And, if you’re interested in learning how you can put in your own edible garden, please get in touch to schedule a garden coaching session. You’re never too young or too old to start feeding yourself. And, really, it isn’t as difficult or as time consuming as you might think. Once you get started self-sourcing your life, you’ll be hooked for life!
Remembering Summer on a Snowy Day Like Today…
Thursday, December 18th, 2008On a day like today when I’m battling a firmly established head cold and am hunkered inside watching the snow come down and perennials crash below a blanket of the white stuff, I take a moment to be thankful.
One Veggie Bed Blanketed in Snow
I am glad for all of the work I’ve put into the garden through mulching, proper pruning and watering to prepare it for weeks like these when the temperatures hardly make it above freezing. And mostly, I’m thankful for all of the food my garden yielded in the past season and all of the work I put into preserving it for winter.
When I’m sick — and especially when I’m sick and its frozen outside — the last thing I want to do is head to the grocery store. So, knowing I can pull out frozen homegrown (or farmer’s market) green beans, tomatoes, carrots, corn, basil, king boletes; and dig through cellared potatoes, garlic, squash and onions; and soak dried cranberry, kidney and red beans to make a pot of fresh soup gives me a bit of relief. Together with a bit of broth or even water, with a dash of black truffle salt, I can pull together a meal without much effort.
Bountiful Veggie Bed in July
In September I wrote a post questioning whether my laborious food preservation work was worth it. Today I know that it was. It’s back to the sofa to curl up under a blanket, watch the snow and read a good book. And maybe I’ll pull together another pot of soup later on and make a salad from the greens I cut from the garden last week before the freeze hit. And, if I get ambitious, I might even bake some bread to go along with the soup — or slather it with some of the apple butter or huckleberry jam I put up with the sweet fruits of summer’s bounty.
Or, if my cold gets the most of me, I might just defrost one of the many tomato soup batches I made last summer in anticipation of a cold winter ahead. Really, though, I hope the cold goes away. I’m very wistful for a summery Lemon Verbena martini right about now!
Want to remember the warm days of summer and the bountiful harvests? Reminisce with me here:
- 99 Pounds of Tomatoes to Preserve
- Lemon Verbena — growing and preserving
- Summer corn harvest
- Harvesting and storing Potatoes
- Farmer’s Market Black Truffles
- Sharing Crops with Neighbors
- December Food Harvest
Holiday Decorating from the Localvore Garden
Monday, November 24th, 2008
Thanksgiving Table Decorated From the Garden
I’m always floored by how expensive prefab holiday centerpieces can be. A couple of pieces of faded holly or pine with a a red candle just doesn’t fancy-up the holiday table the way our own gardens and creativity can. In my horticultural-eyes these arrangements just look sad and dull. In the Pacific Northwest we have so many beautiful options for decorating our tables as well as making fresh-cut swags and wreaths.
When our house is full of family for the holidays, we’re always looking for something more than football and shopping to entertain the family. Taking a walk through the garden with clippers in hand, starts the family fun project of decorating the table for special dinners. Family members are usually amazed to find that the garden does offer a wide array of plants that create fantastic arrangements at no cost to anyone.
Following are some of my favorite plants to clip in November and December to create beautiful arrangements:
Basic needle evergreens for the base of a wreath, swag or centerpiece (watch for sticky sap):
- Western Red Cedar
- Cypress
- Pine
- Juniper
- Douglas Fir
- True Fir
- Rosemary
Colorful Nandina Leaves & Berries
Branches and broad leaves to layer over your green base or scatter through the middle of your table with mixed candles or colorful bits of glass:
- Red & Yellow Twig dogwood branches
- Birch branches add bright white
- Nandina
- Cotoneaster
- Pink, Purple-grey or yellow Willow branches
- Leucothoe sprigs
- Mahonia
- Ivy — what better excuse to pull it and what better use for the weed?
- Red Vine Maple branches
- Liquidamber, Oak, Sumac and Parrotia leaves
- Carex sprigs
- New Zealand Flax
- Hebe
- Euphorbia: watch the burning sap. Burn the ends with flame to seal before you arrange these cuttings.
- Holly (**for Holly you will need a Holly Dip preservation)
Kent Beauty Oregano Visited By Honeybee
Great choices for a fragrant kitchen arrangement that can be dried or used as a bouquet garni later:
- Thyme
- Lavender stems — they may be out of bloom, but they still smell fantastic
- Rosemary — it may actually be blooming!
- Sage — from purples to yellow-greens, the options are beautiful
- Oregano
Berries and Flowers to add even more pop:
- Camellia sasanqua: This camellia blooms from November to February. Its delicate flowers look lovely floating in a bowl of water
- Nandina berries: Red or even yellow airy clusters of beautiful berries
- Cotoneaster: Bare stems or evergreens offer orange and yellow clusters of berries in fall
Parrotia Coloring Up in November
If you’re fortunate, you may still have a few of these options:
- Callicarpa: Metallic purple “beauty” berries
- Chrysanthemums: These fall bloomers are usually still kicking in fall
- Zinnia: Sometimes you’ll find a straggler pushing out a last late bloom in November if the frost hasn’t hit
- Cyclamen: Occassionally a tiny flower will hold on late. Use these for small bedside or bathroom arrangements.
I will confess that sometimes I’ll pick up an inexpensive bunch of mums or other seasonal flowers to augment my arrangements, but usually I stick with what’s in the garden. Have you found other late bloomers in your garden that work well for decorating? Please share them.
